1In the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, came to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. Ishmael was of the royal family and one of the king's chief men, and ten men came with him. There at Mizpah they ate bread together.
2Then Ishmael son of Nethaniah got up, and so did the ten men who were with him. They struck Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and killed him. He was the man the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
3Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, and the soldiers.
4On the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, when no one yet knew of it,
5some men came from Shechem, from Shiloh and from Samaria, eighty men in all. Their beards were shaved off, their clothes were torn, and they had cut themselves. They carried offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the house of the LORD.
6Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he met them he said, "Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam."
7When they had come into the middle of the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah killed them and threw them into the middle of a pit. He and the men who were with him did this.
8But ten men among them said to Ishmael, "Do not kill us, for we have stores hidden in the field: wheat, barley, oil and honey." So he held back and did not kill them with the rest.
9The pit where Ishmael threw all the dead bodies of the men he had killed because of Gedaliah was the one King Asa had made when he was afraid of Baasha king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the bodies of the dead.
10Then Ishmael took away as prisoners all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah. He took the king's daughters and all the people left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had put under the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them away as prisoners and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.
11But Johanan son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces who were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael son of Nethaniah had done.
12So they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon.
13When all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces who were with him, they were glad.
14So all the people whom Ishmael had taken away as prisoners from Mizpah turned round and came back, and went over to Johanan son of Kareah.
15But Ishmael son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites.
16Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the captains of the forces who were with him took all the rest of the people whom he had brought back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. They took the strong fighting men, the women, the children and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.